


Holidays in a Half-Shell

by JustAndrea



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/F, Family Fluff, Gen, Holiday, Humor, M/M, Romance, will tag more if needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 19,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21637012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: Christmas and holiday related drabbles based off prompts from Tumblr, and all starring characters from Rise of the TMNT. Enjoy!
Relationships: April O'Neil/Sunita (TMNT), Baron Draxum & Michelangelo (TMNT), Casey Jones & Raphael (TMNT), Leonardo & Piebald (TMNT), Leonardo & Raphael & Donatello & Michelangelo & April O'Neil (TMNT), Splinter and his kids, Warren Stone/Hypno-potamus
Comments: 6
Kudos: 90





	1. “I doubt Santa will appreciate getting trapped in that"

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I thought I'd do for fun! These first five or so were Christmas sentence-prompts that were sent in via my Tumblr (fanfic-inator795). The ones afterwards however will be taken from a 31 Day Christmas-prompt list, where I'll probably just pick and choose which ones I'll do. Also, feel free to request prompts and characters ^v^ Alright, here we go!

“I doubt Santa will appreciate getting trapped in that, Leon.”

“But this is a perfect plan!” Leo argued, throwing his hands up in the air. It was flawless, the best plan he had ever come up with! At the very least, the best plan that any seven year old has ever come up with.

Santa would come down the manhole, step in the puddle of sticky syrup, go to the bathroom to wash his feet off, get caught in the giant butterfly net, and tada! One trapped Santa who would only be let go once he agreed to take them in his sleigh with him! No way it wouldn’t work! “Come on, Donnie, don’t you wanna go to the North Pole?”

“Of course I do,” Donnie answered. Being at the coldest point on Earth didn’t sound too fun, but getting to see Santa’s workshop and maybe get his hands on some toy blueprints and some magic elf tools? Well worth any chance of frost bite! “But making Santa angry isn’t gonna make him take us there, Leo, and he’s not gonna accept your deal either, he’s just gonna replace our presents with coal.”

Leo huffed, slouching slightly. “Not like you were gonna get presents anyway, Don,” he mumbled, remembering the incident a couple months ago when Donnie ‘borrowed’ a couple of the gears from their pop’s reclining chair without asking, which caused the chair to fold over and trap their poor old dad in it for several minutes. Definitely naughty list material. 

Donnie gave him a shove for that comment, and Leo shoved him right back. Still, Donnie wasn’t backing down. “If we REALLY want to go to the North Pole, we gotta play to Santa’s weakness, not trap him! Observe-” In the blink of an eye, the softshell produced a box big enough for two turtle tots, with the words “COOKIES FOR SANTA TO TAKE HOME” written neatly on it. 

“Santa is so happy that we made him a whole box of cookies instead of just a plate that he takes the box home to Mrs. Claus, and then we jump up as soon as we get to the workshop.” Then all they’d have to do is play up the ‘sad lost kids’ act to get Santa to take them home. Or Donnie would just build them a rocket sleigh with toy shop materials, whichever came first.

Leo hummed, squinting his eyes in thought as he stared at the box. He always hated admitting whenever his twin was right but… “You know, I think that might just work!”

Donnie grinned back at him. “Told you! This is the perfect plan, and we’ll be at the North Pole by sunrise!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that, boys…”

The twins froze, gulping as they turned to look at their rat dad. “I thought you boys were helping Red and Orange make paper snowflakes?” Splinter asked the pair of seven year olds, raising an eyebrow. 

“O-Oh, we were!” “Yeah, we were just about to head back there, honest!”

“Uh huh. Well, clean up the syrup before you go before it attracts flies. And put away the butterfly net in the bathroom. _Both_ of you. Remember, Santa AND Papa are both watching!” Donnie and Leo sighed, reluctantly agreeing before going to get wet paper towels, though still promising each other to try one last plan before bedtime. This WOULD be the year they saw Santa’s workshop, no doubt about that!


	2. “Look how much it’s snowing right now!”

“Look how much it’s snowing right now!”

April smiled as she watched her girlfriend’s awed and excited expression. Sunita’s eyes were locked firmly on the cloudy sky above and all the snowflakes falling around them. “Yeah, it’s pretty beautiful, huh? …I take it they don’t get much snow in the Hidden City?”

“Nope,“ Sunita shook her head, still looking up as she slowly turned in a circle, "None at all…” Even so, she still knew what snow was - just frozen water. Yet as it fell down, like little crystals in the black of night and the light of the street lamps… It just seemed so magical. Like standing in the middle of a snow globe!

It was late and on the brink of freezing cold, but it hardly mattered. Gently, April took the Googlyschmootz’s hand and led her to a bench, sitting her down. With the streets of NYC deserted, Sunita felt no fear as she tapped her brooch, revealing her true form. As the snow kept falling, the flakes stuck to her slime form, causing her body to sparkle slightly.

Squeezing her girlfriend’s hand, Sunita finally looked away from the sky, and turned to smile at April. “…You know the best thing about watching the snow fall?”

“You get to see how pretty it makes everything first hand?“ April guessed.

“Nope!” Sunita leaned over, resting her head on April’s shoulder. “I get to watch it with you! And there’s no one else I’d rather be watching it with.”

April giggled, blushing deeply. It was cheesy, there was no denying that - just as there was no denying how warm and fuzzy it made her feel. “You know… I think that’s my favorite thing about it too…”

With their hands intertwined and their heads cheek-to-cheek, the two girls continued to watch the snow sprinkle over the Big Apple, keeping each other warm and stealing kisses in the dark.


	3. “Ohmigosh the stockings are on fire!”

“Ohmigosh the stockings are on fire!”

“WHAT!” Raph spun around, and sure enough the stockings that were hung just below Donnie’s patented totally-safe, would-never-catch-on-fire (his words, not theirs) Christmas lights were on fire, thanks to a few shattered bulbs and a cord that was also currently on fire.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the family to run in once they heard their youngest member’s shouts (and smelled the smoke), and between all of them plus SHELLDON’s firefighter-mode, they were able to get all the stockings out and down with minimal damage to their home and only one casualty…

Raph sighed, snout slightly scrunched up as he looked down at the burnt stocking. The white fluff at the top reminded him of burnt marshmallow while the fabric of the stocking itself was more brownish-red than the pretty Christmas red that matched his mask perfectly. The teddy bear patch and the letters that spelled his name had either burnt off or were barely hanging on, and all the holes now throughout it just confirmed its uselessness as a stocking.

“You gonna be okay?” he heard Mikey asked, his younger brother climbing up on his shoulder to get a better look at the sorry-looking stocking.

Raph forced a smile. “Yeah, man. I mean, ‘s not like Splinter gives us stocking gifts anymore anyway.” They really only hung up their stockings for tradition’s sake these days more than anything else, and after how apologetic Donnie was about the whole thing (actually taking responsibility and not trying to blame it on someone or something else, for once), Raph didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. “It’s just an old stocking, I can buy a new one next year.”

With that, he gave a light shrug, giving Mikey his cue to get off his shell so he could go to his room. It’d make his room smell like burnt fabric for at least a week, but Raph still wanted to keep his old stocking for nostalgia’s sake, even if he was forced to keep it in a box or closet instead of on the wall of their home.

And speaking of which… Mikey looked up, and frowned at the stockings that were back up on the atrium’s wall. A trio of blue, orange and purple fluffy and cute stockings, with their red brother clearly missing… With determination in his eyes, Mikey grabbed his coat and went up to the surface.

By the time Christmas Morning came, Raph had nearly forgotten about his barbecued childhood stocking… that is, until something on the wall caught his eye. Hanging by the others was a brand new stocking, bright red with fluffy white cotton around the top, a glitter-paint drawing of himself doing a Power Punch Jitsu surrounded by star stickers, and his name written in big, bold marker letters. And, to truly make it perfect, a small gift - a beanie bag teddy bear with a Santa hat and a plush candy cane - was sticking out of the stocking. 

As usual, Raph felt Mikey before he heard or saw him, the box-turtle chuckling a bit as he hung off his big brother’s shoulder. With a warm smile, Raph grabbed Mikey, pulling him off his shell and bringing him to his front for a proper hug. “Thanks, Mikey… Merry Christmas.”

Mikey smiled brightly, happily returning the hug. “Merry Christmas, bro.” 


	4. “Here, a little present for you!”

“Here, a little present for you!”

Warren raised an eyebrow at the small box. “It certainly is ‘little’,” he said, huffing slightly. Smaller than the gifts Warren had managed to get him - a small statuette of a hippo with his late pet/assistant’s name engraved on it along with a box of his favorite tea and some chocolate-dipped fruit. Heck, HE was bigger than the box, even as a worm! Still, despite its size, Warren couldn’t be mad at it. 

Warren hadn’t really gotten a real gift in years, since he was a kid probably. Despite being well-liked enough at Channel 6, whenever they’d have a holiday gift exchange he’d usually only ever get gift cards or something generic like a coffee mug or a desk calendar. And even if it was their first Christmas together, Warren could tell just by looking at him that Ron always gave personalized gifts - always cared enough to do so. 

Blushing ever so slightly, the worm smirked at him. “Let me guess, it’s a holiday tie? Or maybe an ugly Christmas sweater?”

Hypno smirked back at him. “Oh no, you’re not gonna get any hints from me, roomie. You’re just gonna have to open it and see for yourself!” 

“Fair enough.” With little care to where it went, Warren ripped off the wrapping paper, opened the box, and found… nothing. “…Uhh, Hypno? I think you forgot to put the gift in the-”

Warren glanced up, and could only see flowers. Beautiful red roses intertwined with holly and tiny white flowers. A handcrafted bouquet with a touch of sparkle, manifested out of both magic and love. “Tada~” Hypno said quietly, his eyes looking at Warren like he was his whole world, all wrapped up in a tiny package. 

“Tc’ch, you and your flowers,” Warren scoffed as he shook his head, though his now even redder face and wet eyes revealed his true feelings. “…They’re beautiful,” he said finally, smiling softly as he tried to stand up straighter. Getting the hint, Hypno moved the Christmas bouquet to the side and crouched down, the two of them sharing a soft, warm kiss.

“Merry Christmas, honey-hippo…”

“Merry Christmas, love. …I also mayyyyy have gotten you something from that mystic weapon shop you like so much.”

Warren grinned wickedly, kissing his roomie/best friend/boyfriend again, this time with a lot more passion. “You really do know how to treat a guy on Christmas~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man you don’t know HOW tempted I was to have Hypno give him a ring as a Christmas gift, lol. But nah, not even THESE lovebirds would move that quickly. So, flowers and a mystic weapon, hehe.


	5. “Can’t we just open the presents already?”

“Can’t we just open the presents already?” 

Splinter sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. “I already told you, Red, not until morning.”

“But it’s ALMOST morning!” Raph argued, “An’ Santa already brought our presents, and I can’t sleep! So can’t we just-?”

“You may not be able to sleep, but your brothers are sleeping and I need sleep, so you must go back to bed.” The four year old snapper growled, on the verge of hissing. “Raphael,” Splinter said, raising his voice slightly.

“Hmph!” Raph stomped his foot as he turned away from his papa, arms crossed and lip quivering. 

Splinter sighed again. Being forceful clearly wasn’t going to work, so a different strategy was in order. “…Alright, c’mere baby…” Gently, he wrapped his tail around his son and lifted him up onto his bed. Despite his grumpy mood, Raph was never one to refuse a hug from his daddy. A bit ironic really, that his spikiest son would rival his youngest for being the most cuddly.

“I still wanna open presents,” Raph mumbled into his pop’s furry chest, “An’ I still can’t sleep…” He had been so good the last few months, he was SURE Santa brought him another teddy (so the other bear he had, Cheech, could finally have a brother of his own. Plus, who wouldn’t want more teddy bears?) and he couldn’t wait to see for himself. 

“Well, then I guess we’ll just have to make you sleepy.” Minding the spikes, Splinter gently stroked Raph’s head and shell as he began to quietly sing. “On the first day of Christmas, Lou Jitsu gave to me a bowl of hot soup in a tall tree…”

By the tenth day of Christmas, both father and son were fast asleep… That is, until the rest of their family woke them up at exactly 5AM with the announcement that Santa came, he really did, come on Pop get up get up it’s time for PRESENTS!

“Well, at least I was able to get a couple more hours,” Splinter mumbled, exhausted and barely able to keep up with his sons (how were they this excited when it was _so early???_ ) yet still managing a small, amused smile as he watched them open their gifts.


	6. “I get the same things every year.”

“I get the same things every year.” 

April smiled at him. “I mean, they seem pretty different to me.”

Donnie scowled slightly. “Okay fine, not EXACTLY different,” he admitted, pausing to get another handful of the red and green M&Ms that they were sharing, “but similar enough that the holidays have become predictable." It seemed as though no matter which one of his brothers drew his name for their Secret Santa exchange, he’d always get something purple. 

Whether it was the purple hat Raph knitted for him last year, the purple notebooks and pen set Mikey got him the year before that, or the damaged purple Gameboy that Leo had found when they were eight, insisting that his twin was smart enough to fix it which warranted the broken gift (and to be fair, he did also include a slightly-dirty copy of Pokemon Silver, so it wasn’t a completely fix-it-yourself gift). As for his father, Splinter would always find him some sort of textbook or a Shakespearean novel - something that absolutely thrilled Donnie when he was younger, but now seemed just sub-par.

April patted his shoulder. “I kinda get what you mean. Heh, one year I told my aunt I liked these little collectable cat statues. They were cute when I was little, but now they pretty tacky, and a little creepy. But it’s been six years, and she STILL gets me one at Christmas. I just know it’s coming, and every year I just have to grin and bare it.”

Donnie chuckled, only slightly sympathetic. “Okay I’ll admit, the gifts I get aren’t _nearly_ that bad. …Still, I guess I kinda wish they’d at least try to surprise me like they try to surprise each other…”

“Well, have you told them to surprise you, or give them a list of ideas?”

“…Isn’t the idea of gift-giving for the idea of said gift to come from the giver’s own accord?”

“Soooo that’s a no.” April sighed. She really shouldn’t have been surprised by Donnie’s poor communication skills at this point. “They aren’t mind readers, Donnie. If somethin’ seemed to work as a gift year after year and the person didn’t say anything to believe otherwise, wouldn’t you want to keep doing it, figuring a good gift was better than taking a risk and accidentally getting someone an awful gift?”

“I guess,” Donnie reluctantly admitted, laying down on April’s bed. April laid down beside him, giving him a small smile. 

“They still care about gettin’ you a good gift, and I think it’s sweet that they remember things like your favorite color or your favorite hobbies. But if you want them to surprise you, you should let ‘em know. They would still be the ones picking out the gift, even if the idea of it being a surprise was yours.”

“I suppose that’s fair.” After a moment though, Donnie chuckled, remembering some of the past gift failures he had witnessed. Funny to see, not so funny to receive. “Though, knowing my family, I’d probably regret asking for a surprise.”

April shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

“True, very true.” And really, he couldn’t think of any worse surprise than the time Splinter gave them holiday sweaters, not realizing they had been in that dumpster for a reason and the five of them spent the rest of winter scratching flea and bed-bug bites. So hey, what the shell? What did he have to lose?


	7. “Daddy, can you help me write a letter to Santa?”

“Daddy, can you help me write a letter to Santa?”

“Of course, my son,” Splinter nodded, taking the scrap paper and pen. At the tender age of four, his second-oldest purple son was already quite proficient in reading, usually just reading books himself instead of asking his father to read them for him (which was both pride-inducing and bittersweet for the old rat. His boys were already growing up…). Writing however was still a bit difficult. Not that Splinter could really blame him, it wasn’t easy holding a pencil when you only had three fingers. 

But while Donnie still tried to practice his writing and penmanship whenever he could, this letter was important and needed to be legible, and Splinter was more than happy to help him out. “Okay, so,” Splinter began, placing the tip of the slightly-chewed (must’ve been borrowed from Raph) pencil on the paper, “what do you want from Santa, Purple?”

Donnie’s eyes sparkled as he said only one word. “Uranium.”

Splinter blinked. “...Uhh, what was that?”

“Uranium!” the softshell chimed, smiling excitedly now, “Jus’ like what Atomic Lass uses in her Ultra-Hammer and her ship! An’ I could use it in my gadgets too!” Sure, Donnie was still just a beginner when it came to inventing, mostly just practicing his natural talents on fixing the kitchen gadgets, toys and broken electronics they’d find in the dump instead of building from scratch. But with such a powerful element at his disposal, he would be building computers and mech suits in no time!

“Ehe…” Splinter’s ears folded down slightly as he forced a smile, “Are you sure there is nothing else you want from Santa?”

Donnie hummed. “Well, I guess I would like new glasses.” He touched the bridge of his, frowning at the wrapped tape.

“You do need new glasses,” Splinter agreed, writing it down.

“And a new book on electronics could be nice too!”

“Sounds good to me!” Splinter nodded as he continued to write, silently hoping his son wouldn’t be too upset come Christmas morning.

As the years went on, no matter how many times he was slightly disappointed while opening presents, Donnie would always ask for uranium. Whether Splinter was writing the letter or Donnie was writing it himself and reading it out loud, it was always the same thing.

One year, it was the ONLY thing on his list, just repeated several times. “Purple,” Splinter had sighed, “I really don’t think Santa has any uranium in his workshop. Can’t you take a hint?”

“But I’ve been really, really good this year!” Donnie had argued back, “And there’s this super-drone design I have sketched out and I reaaaaaally need uranium to make it scientifically awesome!”

The year after that, after Donnie (and Leo) both turned nine, Donnie had a slightly-forced epiphany. 

“...Hey Pop? Can we talk?” he had said one December afternoon.

“Can it wait until commercials?” Splinter countered. Donnie gave him a serious look, and Splinter turned down the volume on his game show, only slightly reluctant to do so. “Alright, my son, what do you need?”

“Well…” Donnie hesitated slightly, which immediately caught Splinter’s attention. Red was the one who struggled with what to say sometimes, not his brutally honest Purple… After a moment though, Donnie decided to just come out with it. “So, Santa isn’t real, right?”

Splinter didn’t say anything, but his expression told him everything Donnie needed to know. “Yeahhh… April was telling us how some thirteen year olds at school were telling all the little kids at school that Santa wasn’t real… And April admitted that she was starting to have her doubts anyway…”

Splinter wasn’t too surprised at this. April was eleven years old, after all. These sort of things always happened naturally around this age. “Anyway, her, me and Raph started talking about it and, yeah… I guess it is pretty unrealistic for a guy to be able to deliver presents to everyone in one night using magic reindeer to fly his sleigh…”

Donnie felt a gentle, clawed hand on his arm. “Are you alright?” his father asked.

“Heh, yeah,” Donnie nodded, “I’m admittedly disappointed but, yeah, I’m okay. Though, Raph made me promise not to tell Leo and Mikey about it, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Ah, good.” Splinter knew his two youngest would figure it out eventually - Blue and Orange were much more observant than what they let on at times, but he still wanted them to figure it out in their own time. 

“...Soooo, I guess that means you’ve gotten all our gifts each year, huh?” Donnie asked coolly.

His rat dad raised an eyebrow. “...Yessss?”

“I figured as such.” With that, Donnie tapped a few buttons on his wrist tablet. In a flash, the connection to the cable was cut, and Scorpion Treadmill was replaced with a powerpoint that was titled: **Why you should get Donatello (your secret favorite son) uranium for Christmas this year.**

Splinter’s expression flattened. _“Donnie…”_

“Just give me five minutes, Dad! Just hear me out!”


	8. “You are not dressing the cat in a reindeer costume!”

“You are not dressing Mayhem in a reindeer costume!”

“But come onnn, he’ll look so cute in it!” Leo argued, holding up the jingling monstrosity. It was pretty much like any other dog/cat costume, but with a sewn-in collar covered with jingle bells and a hood that came with plush antlers.

April gave him a flat look. “Not my point here, Leon. I don’t want him lookin’ dumb. Plus, it’s not like he’s gonna let you put that on him anyway.”

Leo huffed, a bit frustrated but not yet deterred from his goal. (The fact that he and his brothers were in the middle of a ‘who can take the best holiday photo’ competition miiiight have had something to do with this.) “He’s wore sweaters before! And he liked wearing that cheerleading outfit that one time, so why not this? Besides, I know I’ve seen you put curlers in his fur.”

“Because he  _ likes _ his fur bein’ all curly,” April argued before throwing her hands up, “But fine, if you wanna try it, go ahead.”

“THANK you!” Putting on a charming smile, Leo walked towards Mayhem, who was in-between cat naps as he lazily lounged on April’s backpack. “Hey buddyyyy,” he started, slowly holding up the costume. Mayhem sniffed a bit, giving the ridiculous outfit a curious look. “You wanna get all dressed up for Christmas right? Well your ol’ pal Leo’s got an outfit all ready for you. All you gotta do is sit there and let me-”

Mayhem suddenly let out a screech so loud that Leo was nearly knocked back by it. Quickly regaining his nerves, he tried to grab the little furry yokai, but Mayhem teleported away before he could. “Hey!” From the corner of the living room, he heard his surrogate sister’s pet poof back into reality. “Get back here!” Leo shouted, racing after him. 

Mayhem hissed before poofing away again. Leo groaned, and looked wildly around. “Where did you go?!”

“You sure you wanna put yourself through this, Leo?” April smirked as she leaned against the wall.

The red-eared slider scoffed. “It’ll be fine, I just gotta catch-!” Leo stopped, catching a zap from the kitchen out of the corner of his vision. “THERE!” he raced after the creature while April stayed right where she was. 

She glanced at her phone, pursing her lips slightly in thought before making her guess. “I’ll give him five minutes.”

_ Three  _ minutes later - after a cacophony of screeches, hisses, yelling, poofing and a few crashes - Leo trudged back into the living room, face and hands all scratched up and the reindeer costume thoroughly shredded. “A demon… You’re living with a demon, April.”

“I tried to warn you,” April shrugged, “Besides, how’d you like it if someone was tryin’ to cram you into a dumb looking costume.”

“Fair enough.” Leo gingerly touched his scratches and winced. “Ow… Now I know how Raph feels.” Mayhem teleported onto the couch, and without the worry of being dressed up, he trotted over to Leo and nuzzled his hand, wanting scritches behind the ears. “Oh NOW you’re nice. Ugh.” 

April just chuckled. “...You know, if you still want that cute holiday photo opp-” she produced a Santa hat out from behind her back, “I think I may have an idea.”

A few minutes, some hair clips, and an old headband later, and it was all set up. Using the antlers from the ruined costume, April had attached them to cloth headband - the perfect headband for a bald, turtle head.

“You know, I think I pull off the antler look better than Mayhem would have,” Leo smirked, tilting his head a bit from side-to-side as he tried to pose.

Mayhem - who was perched on Leo’s shell with a Santa hat sitting perfectly on his head - chittered in agreement. 

“Okay you two,” April told them, holding up her phone as she tried not to giggle too much, “Say cheese!” The two grinned, Mayhem smiling extra-wide to show off his fangs and tusks, and April snapped the picture. Now all it needed was a sparkly filter, a couple Christmas stickers and- “Yep,” she nodded, smiling as she made the pic her phone background for the month, “Too cute.” 


	9. “I’ll drag this goddamn tree in the house if it’s the last thing I do!”

“I’ll drag this goddamn tree in the house if it’s the last thing I do!”

“Wow, you actually swore,” Donnie dryly observed, “You really _are_ mad.”

“I’m just frustrated, okay?!” Raph snapped back, clenching his fists a bit before going to try again. Wrapping his arms around the massive trunk, he did his best to try and move it. _“Come ooooooon!”_ His feet kicked up snow as he managed to lift the 35 foot tree just a foot or so before needing to drop it again, lest he pass out.

“I tried telling you it was too big,” Donnie reminded him. He certainly wasn’t much help to his brother when it came to trying to lift the tree, and as it turned out not even SHELLDON’s grappling hooks could add much support, the ropes either snapping after a few minutes or the hooks causing cracks and other bits of damage on the tree that could lead to it breaking in half.

“But I really wanted a tree that could fill the whole lair this year…” Raph huffed. It had been Donnie’s idea to try going out to the forest instead of waiting until dark and picking out one of the leftover trees from a lot. Not that they minded Christmas trees that maybe had a fewer or looser pine needles than the others or was a little dry, but- “I just really wanted to make it special this year… And what’s more special than a tree that’s taller than all three floors of your house?”

“I understand the sentiment, Raph, I really do,” Donnie said, looking genuinely sympathetic as he patted his older brother’s coat-covered shell, “But come on, big brother, there’s no way it’s going to fit on top of the Turtle Tank, and not even you are strong enough to carry a thirty-five foot tall pine tree two hundred or so miles back to the city by yourself.”

The snapper sighed. “Yeah, I know…” Still, what was the point of being the strongest if that didn’t apply to everything? Couldn’t lift a giant tree, couldn’t lift a bus… He flinched slightly as he felt a finger flick the side of his head.

“Just because you have limits doesn’t mean you’re not still the strongest out of all of us,” Donnie told him firmly, “So stop brooding. That’s my job.”

Raph chuckled a bit at that, and wrapped an arm around his purple brother. “Thanks… But what are we gonna do now? We can’t just leave a giant pine tree on the ground!”

Donnie smiled, getting out his tech-bo. “Luckily, I have a full battery,” he said, and with a press of a button, his bo shifted into ‘chainsaw mode’.

It took several hours and a few breaks, but they managed to cut the thirty-five foot tree into seven individual pieces. Raph might have not been able to lift thirty-five feet of wood and pine needles, but five feet - even with a super thick trunk - was no problem! As he picked each piece up, Donnie and SHELLDON worked together to shape the pine into the traditional triangular shape, until they finally reached the tip of the giant tree, which SHELLDON wrapped up and Raph hoisted up onto the back of his shell.

Raph glanced back at the half circle of large Christmas trees. A bit of festive-ness to spruce up the forest, and when the tree-sections inevitably died and fell over, they would be the perfect logs for woodland creatures. 

“Ready to go?” Donnie asked, his hovershell carrying him as he rested his arms and legs while SHELLDON flew ahead, “I’m sure Mikey’s already made two totes full of homemade ornaments and decorations by now.”

“Heh, yeah, we should probably get back,” Raph nodded, holding the tree with ease despite his slight fatigue. Maybe it wouldn’t be giant, but their Mad Dogz/Jitsu family Christmas trees were always pretty special.


	10. “How much for the ugly Christmas sweater?”

“How much for the ugly Christmas sweater?”

“This one right here, ma’am?” the Gilbert’s clerk asked her.

“Yep!” April nodded, one hundred percent sure. She had been walking around the sweater section of the giant department store for a little over half an hour, and while there had been plenty of worthy contenders, as soon as she saw it she just knew that THIS was the sweater she had to get. Totally perfect, and totally ugly. 

After scanning it, the clerk told her, “Well, you’re in luck, this one’s actually on sale so you’re getting fifteen percent off. Would you like to pay for it up here or are you still shopping?”

“I’ll pay for it up here, please,” April replied, getting her slightly-worn wallet out. She was in-between part time jobs at the moment, so she couldn’t exactly splurge on Christmas presents. But even if she had ended up paying full price for it, she would still be smiling, because this purchase would definitely be worth it.

After stepping out of Gilbert’s Department Store and back out into the cold, April raced home to her apartment as quickly and safely as she could. Once there, she changed, got Mayhem changed, grabbed the mini stovetop s’mores she had made earlier for the party, and then made her way to the sewers…

By the time she had arrived, the Jitsu Family Ugly Christmas Sweater Party was in full swing! There were plenty of snacks and drinks, lots of pretty decorations and lights (including a Santa hat and some tinsel wrapped around Cardboard Lou), and plenty to do. Currently three of the four brothers were in the middle of a Smash round on the Ice Climbers stage (gotta keep with the theme), but karaoke and a couple board games were also set up for later. 

April grinned brightly at it all. Whenever she forced herself to try to go to a high school party or dance, she always felt so nervous and out of place. But here? It just felt like home. ...Though, as she looked at the fourth member of their Smash round, who’s only strategy was button-mashing and jumping though she was having fun regardless of her placing, April couldn’t help but feel a few familiar butterflies in her stomach.

“HEY APRIL!” Mikey shouted, bringing her attention back to the snack table, “Lookin’ ugly!”

April snorted, chuckling as she walked over with her tupperware container of s’mores. “Thanks Mike, you’re lookin’ pretty ugly yourself.” Mayhem chirped in agreement. 

“Aww, thanks guys!” Mikey grinned, glancing down at his outfit. Technically it was more a sweatshirt than a sweater, but it was still pretty ugly. Mikey had taken every color of the rainbow to it during a splatter paint sess, and afterwards had doodled every Christmas-y image he could think of on it with a red marker. He had also taken the time to attach bells and swinging ornaments to it, making it truly stand out.

As for April’s, hers was an eye-burning neon green and covered with a candy cane and gingerbread pattern, with pink and purple puffballs down the middle to act as ‘gumdrop buttons’.

Looking over at others, there was no denying that they had brought their ugly game too, with all of their sweaters matching their personalities perfectly. From Raph’s teddy bear and presents-themed red sweater with a teddy bear head sewn right onto it, to Donnie’s Ho to the 3rd Power sweater that was covered in little beakers, neutron symbols and holly, to Leo’s star-covered sweater that might have looked decent if not for the rocket ships and attached gold-colored tinsel. 

Even Splinter had been convinced to put on a Santa-themed ugly sweater! Everyone there was wearing something truly atrocious. ...Well, everyone except the googlyschmootz girl in the lovely, plain violet-colored sweater. But not for long.

“Hey Sunitaaaa,” April said in a sing-song voice, hiding the slight worry that her gift wouldn’t be liked well, “I brought a special gift for you!”

“Aww, really? Thanks April!” Sunita smiled. Her character in the game fell off the platform, but not even that could bring her attention away from her girlfriend. “Is it okay if I open it now?”

“Actually-” April handed her the Gilbert’s bag, “I was hoping that you would.”

The slime girl didn’t hesitate, and as soon as she took out the garment, she let out a loud and happy squeal. “Oh my goshhhhhhh, Aprilllll!” Sunita hugged the sweater. “It’s so ugly, I love it!”

April laughed. “Heh, I was hoping you would!”

“Guys look!” Sunita said as she turned and presented the sweater to the turtles, “It’s so ugly!”

And it really was. A white sweater with black and grey cats in Santa hats all over it (front AND back) while a pattern of pink snowflakes and holly tied it all together. Sunita didn’t hesitate in taking her plain sweater off and replacing it with her gift. Of course, the sweater fit perfectly, and while totally ugly, it was also totally soft and comfy. “Thanks April,” she said, calmer now but still grinning ear-to-ear, “This is great.”

“Yeah, I’m glad you like it,” April nodded, “I know we didn’t give you a lot of time to get something and, well, I didn’t want you to feel left out.” 

Sunita was definitely grateful for that. The festivals and parties in the Hidden City (or even if the homes of Yokai that lived on the surface like her and her pop) never celebrated something as strange or niche as ugly sweaters. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to participate at all, even if she didn’t have the proper attire.

But having her girlfriend realize that and take the time and money to make sure she could share in the ugly fun… It just made her feel all warm and gooey inside! “You’re the best,” she said, pulling April into a hug, which she happily returned. As they separated and Sunita took another look at her ugly sweater, her sweet smile became a bit of a smirk. “You know, I think this little bit here is that mistletoe stuff.”

April blushed slightly, but matched the Googlyschmootz’ smirk. “I dunno, it might be…”

Donnie glanced over at them, specifically at the sweater’s backside. “Actually, I believe that’s holly. Most people get the two mixed up, but holly is taken from an evergreen shrub while mistletoe-” He stopped, noticing that the two girls were ignoring his explanation in favor of sharing a kiss. “Eh, nevermind. ...Hey who took Samus before I could? Leon!”


	11. “Are you humming the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy?”

“Are you humming the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy?”

“Hm? Oh, heh, I guess I am,” Mikey answered, stiffening slightly as he kept his attention on the roast he was prepping for their supper that night.

“Heh, you’ve got it stuck in your head or something?” Donnie smirked.

But Mikey didn’t chuckle or even smirk back. Instead, his youngest brother just increased his pace. “Yeah, that must be it.” He placed the roast in the crockpot, checking the knobs on both it and the rice cooker, before racing out of the kitchen. “Later.”

“Uh, later…” Donnie stared at where his brother had been for a moment before shrugging it off and taking another sip of his cocoa.

“...Aw man, that’s not the last of the cocoa is it?” Leo asked as he and Raph entered the kitchen.

“Nope, there’s still three packs left,” Donnie answered. His older brother and twin both sighed in relief, and as they went to the cupboard to get their own mugs started, Donnie decided to bring up the small incident. “Hey, have you guys noticed that Mikey has been humming an awful lot lately?”

“Uhh, he hums all the time,” Leo countered, “What’s the big deal?”

“Usually he’s humming some hip hop or pop song though. Have you ever known him to hum classical?”

“Oh wait, you mean-” Raph paused for a moment, trying to remember the melody he had heard from his orange brother. “Da, da, da-da da da, da da da da da daaaa-da?”

“No no no,” Leo shook his head, “He wasn’t humming that! It was a lot faster, more like ‘da da-da-da-da da da daaa, da-da-da-da da da daaaa!”

“Actually, you’re both wrong, and I heard something completely different from Mikey just now,” Donnie stated, “Not that it matters. All the songs we heard were from the same thing - the Nutcracker!”

“Oh yeah! Now I remember,” Raph nodded, “Heh, thanks for that. It was drivin’ me crazy, tryin’ to think of where I heard it before.”

“Heh, remember when April first brought over that Barbie Nutcracker movie when we were all little?” Leo asked, “Mikey was obsessed with it for like two months, during AND after Christmas!”

“Perhaps his opinion on it has changed,” Donnie mumbled, getting his brothers’ attention once again, “I pointed out what he was humming, and he got all cagey, like he was embarrassed or something. It was weird… And not even standard Mikey-weirdness.”

“Huh, yeah…” Raph frowned, now just as confused as his brother in purple. Still, if Mikey didn’t want them to bring it up, then they wouldn’t. It wasn’t like Mikey was hurting anyone with his humming, or even being annoying with it. So, while they were still a bit confused, the three of them ultimately shrugged it off and forgot about it. 

That is… Until they all (including April and Splinter) received a handmade invitation inviting them to a ‘surprise performance’ in the TV room. The lights in the room had already been dimmed, with the beanbags and Splinter’s chair pushed even further back than usual, leaving plenty of room for a makeshift stage. And, with no film roll currently in it and the cable temporarily disconnected from it, their old projector provided the perfect spotlight. 

“Sooo, does anyone know what this is all about?” Leo asked.

“That would kind of ruin the point of it being a ‘surprise performance’, wouldn’t it?” Donnie countered.

Leo rolled his eyes. “Okay fine. But still, what do you think he’s gonna-?”

Suddenly, SHELLDON flew into the living room. Taking his spot above the stage, he turned on his speakers and began playing the opening notes of the Nutcracker Suite. It had been slightly remixed, with a few beats and extra notes added here and there, but it was still definitely the ballet that they all knew.

After a few moments, Mikey stepped onto the stage, wearing a white leotard, vest and skirt with orange and gold trim and holding an old Nutcracker doll that he had found a few years ago while scavenging with his family. 

“...Okay, I guess we’re doing this now,” Leo said simply as he settled into his seat.

“Hmm, not the traditional color scheme for Clara but, hey, it still works,” Donnie quietly commented. 

“Heh…” Raph smiled, leaning over towards April a bit as he watched his youngest brother dance. “Wonder how long he’s been workin’ on puttin’ this together…” It would explain all the humming, as well as why he felt the need to hide it until his Grand Performance.

“You know Mikey,” April whispered back, “Once he’s got a project in mind, he puts his all into it.”

Just then, as the music shifted into another piece, a new dancer joined the stage, dancing as gracefully as ever despite his heavy feet and large hairy body. “Wait, Bullhop?” Raph said, sitting up a bit in surprise. Sure enough, that was their clumsy, bovine friend all gussied up in a brand new red jacket (similar to the one he wore as a bellhop), black tights and a tall, soldier hat. “But wait, when did he get back in town-?” 

“Shh, quiet Red,” Splinter lightly scolded. Looking a little sheepish now and figuring he could just ask him after the show, Raph silenced himself and went back to watching the homemade ballet. 

It wasn’t the most accurate or cleanest version of the Nutcracker ever performed - at one point, Bullhop tripped and nearly tore down the projection screen behind him, getting a bit of an earful from Splinter for it. 

But still, between all the smiles, the cool moves he got to try out with a partner, and especially the applause from his family at the end of it, Mikey decided that the finer details didn’t matter. This was his - their - ballet, and he was proud of it - and whatever mistakes they might have made or improvements they could have done were pushed to the back of his mind as he and his dancing bull buddy took a well earned bow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please for the love of Lou Jitsu DO NOT interpret this as Mikey/Bullhop. Mikey is THIRTEEN and I'm pretty sure Bullhop is in his early to mid twenties so, no, absolutely not.
> 
> But yeah, Mikey loved Bullhop's dancing skills, and according to 'Lair Games' he does ballet himself (no surprise there, given he already does DJing and miming along with all his graffiti art, cooking, can-stacking, etc.), so yeah, I just liked the idea of these two doing a ballet together ^v^ ...Plus I just love Bullhop, and I can't wait for his action figure to finally come out.


	12. "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some pre-dating/still in the just-besties-it's-complicated phase Hippoworm. This idea popped into my head at work yesterday and I just HAD to write it out, lol. Enjoy! ^v^

**"I want a hippopotamus for Christmas...":**

“Come on, come on!” Warren gritted his teeth, shoving his tiny hands right up to the car’s heater and wincing at the cold air that was still blowing out. They really needed a new car…

At the very least, Hypno’s old van was reliable enough to get them to gigs - one of those gigs as of late being Run of the Mill Pizza. They maybe weren’t as popular as that exploding goop guy, but yokai families seemed to like a famous hippo-magician and his worm man-magical assistant well enough - enough to help them pay their rent, at least.

Usually they would have stayed and had dessert after their performance, but that night four certain annoying teenage-turtles were at the pizzeria as well, and Warren knew he wouldn’t be able to enjoy his cannoli while listening to their antics. So Hypno volunteered to get them dessert to go while Warren started the car. 

Speaking of which, he could finally start to feel heat coming out of the old air vents. Warren sighed, letting the hot air wash over his nearly frozen body. Worms didn’t have much body heat insulation as it turned out (just another ‘wonderful’ thing about being stuck as a worm…), but at the very least Warren had managed to sew together a decent mini sweater for himself.

Relaxing now, Warren started to hum to himself, not even realizing he was doing it at first. Not many people of New York might have known this, but along with being the best and undoubtedly _most handsome_ news anchor, Warren Stone was also a pretty talented singer. Thinking back on his old life, he could remember many Christmas office parties where he had graced his co-workers with his talents by singing carols. 

Maybe it wasn’t something he did all the time, but singing was certainly a fun past time. ...However, participating in singing Christmas carols and humming them just because they were stuck in your head were two VERY different things. “Ugh…” He might have tried turning on the radio to find something to drown the holly jolly tunes out, if not for noticing the now-open portal and his hippo roomie/bestie (and secret crush) walking out of it. His gaze softened as Hypno got into the car.

Hypno shivered. “Dreadfully cold out there! Oh, I got you a coffee,” he said, slipping the cup into the cup holder, “Double expresso with a hit of chocolate and cream.” 

Warren’s smile grew, touching the warm cup. A lot of people might have had a bad habit of forgetting about him, but when it came to all things Warren Stone, his hippo roomie had the memory of an elephant. “Thanks, Ron.” Using the straw Hypno had also provided for him, he took a long sip before grabbing his cannoli from the bag.

As the two of them quietly enjoyed their dessert, the warmth of the car and (of course) each other's pleasant company, Warren started humming again. Hypno didn’t mind humming but… the song Warren had chosen did make him pause. “Warren?”

“Hm?” Warren said, mid-chew.

“What’s that you’re humming?”

“Mm-” He swallowed. “Oh, some Christmas song I can’t get out of my head.”

“I figured as such but which song is it?”

“Ugh, one of the novelty ones that they always seem to play,” Warren answered, waving his hand a bit, “I don't know, something like ‘Want a Hippopotamus for Chris-’”

He stopped, and closed his eyes as his face turned a shade pinker. He did manage to keep from facepalming, though for once part of him actually wished for something to randomly fly out of nowhere and cut him in half. 

Hypno gave him a bit of a cheeky smile to try and cut through the awkwardness. “You know if we’re being completely honest, I’m actually quite flattered!”

 _“Ughhh…”_ Warren sunk deeper into his sweater as he groaned. Hypno chuckled as he leaned over, patting his partner's back and nuzzling his poofy hair a bit. 


	13. “On the first day of Christmas, my brothers gave to me-”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's still too early for Christmas fics and like, I was gonna hold off on posting these drabbles, start the day after Thanksgiving and post a new one each day after that. But like... yesterday was really frustrating for me, and today isn't that great either, and idk... I'm just kinda in a "Screw it" mindspace right now so, have some Christmas drabbles
> 
> Also for the record, from here on out unless it's like a flashback or whatever, all of these upcoming drabbles take place after the Season 2 finale. So yeah, hope you guys enjoy, feel free to request or suggest ideas for drabbles if you want.

_ “On the first day of Christmas, my brothers gave to meeee~” _

“Pizza Supreme help us,” Donnie said as he stared exhaustedly at his twin, who was wearing a Santa hat without a care or ounce of shame in the world. From behind him, he could hear their other brothers coming to check out the carol-related commotion.

But as if Leon playing Christmas music on his phone with the volume up as loud as he could get it wasn’t bad enough, he had also somehow managed to hang gaudy red and gold tinsel and rainbow lights all over the lair’s atrium within a single night. There were even a couple wreaths and other assorted winter and/or Christmas-y decorations that didn’t really stick to one particular theme.

Most of their old Christmas decorations had been destroyed along with a good chunk of their old lair, and though most of it had been packed away in boxes, not much of it had survived the Shredder’s rampage. Disappointing but not too much of a surprise or a bother, they would just have to get more later on. Leo, however, had apparently taken that responsibility upon himself. 

And now, Donnie realized, those late night shopping trips his blue brother had been making since early November - and the smirks he would have afterwards when he came back home - suddenly made a lot more sense. He mentally cursed the stores near their home for being so eager to push the holidays, though at the same time was sure Leo would have found a way to bring ‘Christmas spirit’ regardless.

At least he wasn’t alone in his fatigue. “Seriously, Leo?” Raph asked, giving his blue brother a flat look. Mikey however was just snickering at the whole situation, and at this point Donnie was just trying to decide between grabbing his bo and taking down the damn decorations himself or just going back to bed.

_ “-Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a pizza in a pear treeeee~” _

“It’s not even DecEMBER-!” Donnie growled, but was cut off when Leo stuck a candy cane in his mouth. At that point, Mikey’s snickers became a full-on cackle. Even Raph had to try and hide his giggles.

“For the record, dear Donald, it’s the day _ after  _ Thanksgiving,” Leo lightly argued while mimicking his purple brother’s way of speaking, his smirk never flinching despite the softshell’s growing ire, “That means it’s the first day of the Christmas season. Christmas 1st, if you will.”

“LEONARDO-!” Donnie began to yell, just about ready to tackle Leo when Mikey easily pulled him back with a one-armed hug. (How their youngest and smallest brother could be so strong, he would never know.)

“Makes sense to me!” Mikey grinned, “It is the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ after all! Why not start early?”

“Michelangelo don’t you DARE ENCOURAGE HIM!”

“Too late,” Raph stated simply as Mikey joined in on Leo’s song, even grabbing one of his candy canes and using it as a fake microphone. 

Though not outnumbered, he knew his younger brothers’ determination very well. And so, Donnie’s growls became a groan of defeat. Raph patted his shell. “Just let ‘em get it out of their system,” Raph said, “They’ll get bored of annoying the rest of us and knock it off soon. ...Eventually. Maybe.”

“And if they don’t?” Donnie asked, “And we have to deal with this for the next twenty eight days straight?”

“Hmph.” Raph may have been the responsible big brother most of the time, trying more often than not to keep the peace within his family, but even he wasn’t THAT patient. “Then  _ you _ get to test out SHELLDON’s new sword and knives function on all the tinsel, aaaand I’ll look the other way if you decide to install a temporary Christmas music Donnie-Blocker on all our stuff.”

“...I can live with that,” Donnie replied after a moment of thought. He cringed as their two younger brothers went from ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ to ‘Jingle Bells’. “Provided they don’t drive me insane before then.”

“Just give it forty-eight hours. Okay, Donnie?”

“Deal. Just keep them and their holly jolly-ness out of my room, please?” 

“Got it.” With that, Donnie trudged back into his lab, muttering to himself as he wondered aloud what he could use to block out the obnoxious singing.

But as Donnie was leaving, another member of their family was just waking up from his turkey-induced coma.

“Ugh, what is with all the yelling?” Splinter grumbled, rubbing his eye.

Leo and Mikey shared a grin as they ran to their dad. “Merry Christmas!” they shouted at him in unison.

Splinter slowly blinked at them, his eyes still a bit blurry and his ears flat. He stared at his sons, and then at the rest of their home. “...How long was I asleep?” he finally said. His blue and orange sons could only laugh while Raph just shook his head.


	14. “Merry Christmas, Baron Draxum!”

“...So you’re saying that this holiday _ isn’t _ meant to be used to worship trees?”

“Nah,” Mikey shook his head, “We just use ‘em for decoration. Though, I guess we do have a holiday about trees too, it just isn’t very popular.”

“But then, why use a tree of all things for decoration and as a symbolism of the holiday?” Draxum asked, his focus still on the small three foot plastic tree Mikey had brought him. Along with being much smaller than the trees he had seen around the city, it was also currently bare, but judging by the set of lights and small assortment of ornaments the box turtle had brought him, it wouldn’t remain that way for very long.

“Tradition, mostly,” Mikey answered. In his hands were two cups of hot cocoa, the mugs having pictures of snowmen and happy human children on them. He handed one to Draxum before sitting down beside him. 

“I know Donnie did this whole ‘History and Origins of Christmas’ thing one year, but that was a while ago so I don’t really remember a lot of it.” He wasn’t sure if Donnie would be willing to give an encore presentation of it just for Draxum either, despite how much his purple brother loved to talk and teach. “All you really need to know is that it’s meant to be fun and make you excited about the holidays!”

After a moment though, Mikey added, “Though, if you’re not interested in the holiday itself, we won’t force you to celebrate it or get us all gifts or anything like that.” Getting him a tree to help brighten up his apartment was one thing, but Mikey knew he couldn’t just push Draxum into every Christmas activity and tradition. Frankly, he didn’t WANT to force him, even if he still wanted to share their holidays with the sheep-man.

Draxum hummed as he thought about the offer. He took a long sip of the cocoa, smiling ever so subtly at the sweet and chocolate-y taste. “...How exactly do you all celebrate this holiday?” he finally asked, not yet giving an answer but curious enough to keep the conversation going, “Besides the decorating of a tree, I mean.”

“Well, we do stuff throughout the month, depending on what’s going on and what we want to do that year,” Mikey began, “But if you wanna focus on just Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we’ll usually start off with a big fried chicken dinner that night.”

Draxum’s expression nearly became one of shock. “Chicken? Not pizza?”

Mikey laughed. “Not on Christmas! Though I have made breakfast pizza a couple times on Christmas morning. But yeah, apparently having fried chicken and Christmas cake is a big thing in Japan, and I guess Splinter didn’t want to break tradition. We don’t mind though, since it’s always really good and I’m allowed to pretty much do whatever flavor I want for the cake.”

“I see…” Draxum had some experience with both poultry and other surface fowl, given how often he had to serve fried meat nuggets at his cafeteria job. What made chicken on Christmas so special, he had no idea, but he supposed it could’ve been worse.

“Sometimes we’ll try to make a bunch of gingerbread houses too, but that’s usually earlier in the month. Anyway, once we’re done eating, we’ll sometimes play games or sing some carols, but most years we just marathon a bunch of Christmas movies and specials ‘till we pass out.” Mikey chuckled, wondering what Draxum would think of stuff like A Christmas Story and the Grinch.

“April’s usually not able to sleep over, since her fam’s got stuff that they like to do on Christmas morning, but she’ll still come and hang for a couple hours at least,” he continued, “We’ll have Sunita, Piebald and CJ coming over this year too! Oh, and SHELLDON and Frankenfoot, of course. Maybe more, if Todd and Bullhop are able to make it.”

Draxum grimaced a little. So this ‘Christmas Eve’ was meant to be a holiday party then. Not exactly appealing to a warring warrior scientist who kept to himself, even during Yokai holidays. At most, he would visit a shrine or make himself a traditional dish. Honestly, he couldn’t even remember the last party or festival he attended…

Not focusing too much on Draxum’s reactions, Mikey sat back a little and glanced up at the ceiling. “Yeah, Christmas Eve is a ton of fun usually… but the morning after can be really nice too.”

“Ah, I take it that Christmas Day is when you all receive gifts from your father and the large, bearded sleigh-rider then?” Draxum asked.

Mikey chuckled a little. “Yep. We open gifts as soon as everyone’s up, and then have breakfast. But, it's more than just that, you know?”

“Hardly. That’s why you’re explaining it to me,” Draxum stated.

“Heh, right... “ Taking a moment to finish up his cocoa, Mikey thought about Christmases past and the feelings they’d bring, from the grand parties of their teenage years to their first humble and homemade gift exchange when they were little. 

“The gifts are nice, sure, and there’s that rush of opening them up and seeing what you got. But afterwards, it’s all quiet and you’re all chilling out, but you’re not bored or anything. You’re just hanging out with your family, talking about random things and still half asleep, heh… It’s just nice, knowing that you’ve got people to celebrate and enjoy the holidays with. You feel… content! Yeah, that’s the word. You don’t gotta rush or worry about anything for a couple hours, and things are just kinda peaceful and, well, nice!”

“Nice…” Draxum quietly repeated, thinking over everything Mikey had just told him. He still had questions of course, details about the holiday that were still unknown or confusing to him, but only one question really remained. One question that remained unsaid, yet still hung in the silence between him and the turtle. 

“...Well-” Mikey spoke up, carefully setting his empty mug on the floor, “You wanna get started on the tree? I wasn’t sure what color of ornaments you wanted, but there’s a good variety here, enough that you would be able to only use the colors you like, if you really wanted to.”

Draxum said nothing, instead choosing to silently watch as Mikey began to unwrap the string of lights. Together, they were able to decently decorate the tree. Even if Mikey did most of the work, Draxum would still make an effort to hang an ornament or a candy cane or answer a question. Within half an hour, the tree was finished off with a simple and obviously handmade star-topper.

“...I still don’t entirely understand the purpose of this,” Draxum said as he and Mikey stared at the tree, it’s lights bright enough to light up the corner they had placed it in, “Still… it’s not too obnoxious, at least.”

“Yeah, it’s really pretty,” Mikey nodded before smiling up at him. “Glad you like it.”

Draxum grunted, acting as if he didn’t care one way or another about the tree or the holiday. Still, as he turned his eyes back to the tree, he did give Mikey a small pat on the head, allowing himself to smile just a little as his orange-wearing creation chuckled at the gesture. “...If I were to join in on your Christmas, could I leave whenever I wish and choose which activities I actively participate in?”

“Of course!” Mikey replied, his smile becoming an excited grin.

Draxum scoffed. “Don’t give me that look, I haven’t agreed to anything yet.” Though, he didn’t outright disagree with anything either. “Would I need to bring a dish and gifts for all of you?”

“If you wanted to, but again, we wouldn’t force you to or anything like that. Oh! But if you’re interested, I know some great sugar cookie recipes, and you could serve them in the cafeteria too!” As Mikey began his cookie-related lecture, Draxum settled back in on the couch.

A part of him wasn’t too sure about this whole Christmas thing, but then again, there was also still a part of him that wasn’t too sure about having a family either. Three of his four creations still tended to tolerate him more than actually like him, O’Neil would still usually ‘drag him’ during most interactions, and though the tension between them had mostly been relieved, he and Splinter still weren’t exactly close. 

And yet, these were the people - the family - that he had chosen to both fight alongside and fight for. In that sense, maybe choosing to also celebrate and spend a human holiday with them didn’t seem too bad either.


	15. “Tis the Season”

The former humans who once made up the so-called Evil League of Mutants weren’t exactly the most sociable people in the city. But, every once in a while, a bit of good timing and a bit of loneliness would bring them back together - usually in a fairly empty tavern with a staff that didn’t ask too many questions as long as they paid their tabs and didn’t break anything.

The door to said tavern suddenly flung open, and a tall ‘human’ in an overcoat with gloves over unusually sharp ‘hands’ rushed in. “Yeesh, could’a used a warning about that blizzard…”

“I know right?” a voice replied. Glancing up, Repo saw the Sando Brothers at the counter, each of them a couple drinks in with a bowl of peanuts in-between them. “It started getting bad just as we were getting here,” Ben said.

“I don’t think it’s gonna last all night though,” Carl added, “Which is good for us. Those sewers are FREEZING at night!”

“Sewers?” Meatsweats, who was sitting by himself in a booth, repeated. “I thought you two had decided to hold up in an old warehouse?”

“Yeahhh, we did.” “Until we got caught and chased out.”

“Ah, what a surprise,” the pig-man dryly mumbled, taking a sip of his drink. Repo had to agree - everyone knew the Sandos only had half a brain between them, and were only really good for their muscle and their acrobatics. Good to have around, but too annoying to actually want around.

Still, Repo was in a good mood, so he placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Well, maybe I can’t get that warehouse back for you, but I still think I can cheer yous up.” He looked up at the tired bartender. “Hey buddy, yous got any special holiday drinks?”

“We got rum and eggnog,” he replied, “Oh, and mini candy canes, if I can find them.”

“Perfect. A round of rum and candy canes all around!” Repo grinned, “It’s on me!”

“Whoa, seriously?” Ben blinked, his brother in just as much disbelief.

Meatsweats however just crossed his arms. “What’s the catch? You want us to shovel your junkyard tomorrow morning? Or perhaps you’ll try to ‘repo’ something of ours later on, hm?”

“Nah, no catch,” Repo shook his head, “And for the record, I got an old plow that can shovel for me.”

“But… You’re being so… nice,” Carl said. “Dude, you’re NEVER nice!”

Repo just shrugged. “What can I say? ‘Tis the season!” Taking one of the rums that the bartender had placed on the counter, the mantis man took the glass and raised it as a toast.

“Huh… Funny, I would have thought of you as the Scrooge type,” Meatsweats said, pulling a face as Repo handed him a drink. This just wasn’t right, there HAD to be a catch! But he was once again struck with shock when he saw the bug man take out a wad of bills and handed it to the bartender, proving that no, this wasn’t some trick.

“You kiddin’? I love the holidays!” Repo told him, a bright (and genuine) grin still on his face, “Next to spring cleaning, it’s the best time of the year for me! So sue a guy for wantin’ to enjoy it!”

As Meatsweats continued to stare at him in an attempt to figure out Repo’s angle on all of this, the brothers shared a look. “Okay, so… I’m not saying that he’s brainwashed, but he’s totally brainwashed,” Ben whispered.

“I bet it was Hypno,” Carl whispered back, “I mean, hypnosis and brainwashing are pretty much the same thing, right?”

Of course, Repo heard all of this, but his smirk never left his face. He just sat back and enjoyed his holiday drink, paying no mind to his companions’ questions or the storm still blowing outside.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

It was another beautiful winter morning in NYC, and Repo couldn’t have been happier. Most of the snow that had fallen the night before had been plowed, and what was left sparkled in the sunlight. Parking his tow truck, Repo pulled his scarf up over his mouth and stepped out, making sure to grab his old camera before shutting the door. 

“Yous ready to get to work?” He patted the top hood of the sleigh that had cobbled together out of scrap metal and spray painted red years ago. In the sleigh itself, there was an old Santa animatronic that he had hooked up to a car battery. Sure, he had to smack it occasionally to get it to work right, but it was still a Santa - which meant kids would still go crazy for it.

To really pull the whole set up together, Repo plugged in some twinkly lights and tuned the radio in the sleigh to a Christmas station. Once that was done, all he had to do was wait. Within half an hour, he had a whole line of curious and excited kids. 

“Yep, that’s right,” Repo told them, smiling behind his scarf, “Santa’s helper is here, and he’s gonna listen to all’a yer Christmas wishes! Three bucks to sit in the sleigh, five bucks for a photo!”

Of course, most kids sprang for the photo, but a lot of them were more than happy to climb all over the sleigh and play with the Robo-Santa, not minding that he just said  _ “Ho ho ho! Meeeeerry Christmas to all!” _ over and over again. Naturally, Repo was just as happy to let them enjoy his little Christmas photo set-up - just as long as they paid.

_ “Ho ho ho! Meeeerry Christmas to all!” _

“Yep, you said it, big guy,” Repo smirked, counting the bills in his claws, “Merry Christmas to me~”


	16. “Santa is Scary”

Being a mall Santa certainly wasn’t the easiest job in the world. Heck, it didn’t even pay that well. But hey, money was money, and things like hospital bills and Baby’s First Christmas ornaments didn’t pay for themselves.

So, ‘Santa’ would put up with a little extra part-time work at Gilbert’s Department Store, and would power through the crying and the beard pulling and the kids getting sick on his lap and everything in-between as best he could. Though, he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t looking forward to his lunch break.

Thankfully, while the line itself was still long, there would only be a few kids left until said break. “-now be good now, and have a very Merry Christmas! Ho Ho Ho!” Santa said as one of his helper elves helped the three year old girl off his lap. Looking ahead, he saw another big family that was next in line - though for a moment, he thought it was just a group of five kids.

But no, the tallest and biggest of the bunch was definitely an adult, despite being so short. After all, he had a grey beard, which was so long and thick that it puffed out and around the scarf and hat that the man had put on. ‘Maybe he should be playing Santa’, the worker thought to himself, chuckling a little.

The man’s kids were just as covered up as he was, wearing thick coats and gloves and even hats and scarves. With all of that, he was a little surprised they weren’t bawling. Well, maybe they just got cold easily and didn’t mind wearing layers. Either way, Santa accepted this and gave a jolly “Ho ho ho!” as one of the boys was placed on his lap.

“Well hello there, what’s-” Santa faltered a little as he got a good look at the kid, who seemed to have… green skin?

“Hi Santa!” the boy grinned, “My name’s Raph, but I bet you know that already, ‘cause you’re Santa, right?”

Santa blinked. “Ah, yes… Uh-”

“I have a rare skin condition,” Raph said suddenly, as if he had just remembered, “It’s called turtletosis!” He briefly looked over at his father and brothers, who gave him nods and thumbs up. “My brothers have it too,” he added, looking back at Santa, “But it’s not contagious or anything. Just normal human kids with skin conditions, yep!” With that out of the way, Raph gave Santa another smile, this one a bit more sheepish. “Anyway, I was wondering… Since I’ve been good this year, could I please have a teddy bear for Christmas? I already got one, but I really want him to have a brother.”

Hearing that, Santa couldn’t help but smile a little. Sure, these kids were a bit… unusual, but they were still kids nonetheless. “Hmm, I think my elves and I could make you a bear. Yes, that sounds like a wonderful gift for a good boy like you! Ho ho ho!”

Raph smiled brightly, giving the man a hug before a helper elf picked him up. “Thank you, Santa!”

Next was the boy in purple, who already had a long list out. Oh boy, he was one of THOSE kids. The ones who practically wanted every toy in the toy store. “Hello Santa,” he greeted politely, “My papa says that I can’t ask you for uranium or plutonium.”

“Er, did you say uranium-?”

“BUT I thought that since you work at a workshop and all, you could get me some of these instead.” He handed Santa the list.

To the worker’s surprise, it wasn’t a long list of expensive brand-name toys. Instead, he saw a list of what he could assume were different types of hardware materials. As a bit of a handyman himself, he recognized a couple of the screws and tools that the boy was asking for, but many of the gears and specific parts that were also listed just went completely over his head. 

At the very bottom, the boy - Donatello, apparently - had signed his name in cursive, it being way too clean and fancy to be from a six year old. “...Also, if you wanna throw in some blueprints of your sleigh or of any of the north pole’s toy machines too, that would be very much appreciated,” Donnie added.

“Er, well... Santa will do his best!” Santa told him, unsure of what else to say, “Ho ho ho!” The boy pouted a bit at that, but perked up slightly when he was given a chocolate Christmas tree.

Next was his brother in the bright blue parka and the unicorn-themed hat. “Hey, Santa!” he grinned, “I’m sure you know me, since I’ve been super good this year. Like, really really REAAAAALLY good.”

“Ho ho, I’m sure you have,” Santa said, trying not to smirk, “In fact, I bet you’re near the top of my list! So, what would you-?” Before he could even get the question out, the boy handed up an advertisement - one that was at least a decade old, judging by how faded it was.

“Since I’ve been so good, could you please get me this?” the boy asked, “It’s soooo cool, and would be so much fun to play with!”

Santa had to agree with that. After all, he remembered playing with this very toy back when he was a kid. But that was what made it so surprising to him. After all, what kid cared about an old and cheesy sci-fi franchise like Jupiter Jim? Sure, the franchise was still somewhat popular with a niche group of fans, he just didn’t think that group of fans included members who were this young.

“Well, little boy-” “Leo.” “Leo, yes. Santa may not be able to make this exact toy, but I’m sure that he can get you a toy rocket or toy car that your Jupiter Jim figure will love just as much!”

“And maybe a toy lightsaber too?” Leo added, “Since Daddy says I’m still too young to use a real sword?”

“I- yes, I am sure my elves could make you that too,” Santa said, trying his best to stay in-character. These really were strange kids. Nice and very cute (and very  _ green _ , with this one even having red paint around his eyes) but still strange.

Thankfully, Leo accepted this answer, and hopped off the worker’s lap without too much of a fuss. “Thanks, Santa,” he waved on the way back to his family.

Finally, it was time for the youngest brother, who was so small and looked so round in his puffy orange coat and hat that, had it been a different season, he might’ve been mistaken for a baby pumpkin. Since he had waited the longest to meet Santa, the kid was even more excited and probably would have tried to jump on his lap himself had a helper elf not grabbed him first.

However, the moment that the boy in orange was placed on his lap, the kid’s face went from excited to stunned, his smile quickly disappearing. “Ho ho ho!” Santa greeted, doing his best to sound happy and friendly, “Hello there! And what’s your name?”

“Uh… M-Mi... U-Uh…” He began to whimper.

Uh oh… Santa forced himself to smile as he prepared his ears. “Come on, little guy,” he encouraged, “Don’t be shy! Santa would love to hear what you’d want for Christmas!”

“I-... I-I-... EEP!” The boy didn’t start crying and screaming, nor did he try to jump off his lap and run back to his family. Instead he just… disappeared. 

It happened so fast that it took the worker a second to register it - one second he was looking at the kid’s scared face, and the next it was gone! He had managed to tuck not just his face, but his  _ entire head _ into his scarf and coat, leaving just the very tip of his hat sticking out. If that wasn’t strange enough, the arms of his coat and legs of his pants seemed to go limp too, as if his limbs had disappeared as well!

“What the-?” Santa asked, too shocked to remember to keep up his deep ‘Santa’ voice. He looked over at his helper elf, who looked just as shocked and unsure as he did.

All of a sudden, a pair of hands just about yanked the orange boy right off his lap. “Aha, sorry about that, Santa!” his abnormally hairy father said as he backed away, “But you know kids! Always wanting to hide in their, ah, coats! Haha, we will just be leaving now. Okay, everybody say bye bye Santa!”

“Bye, Santa!” “Byeeee!” “Don’t lose my list, okay?” With that, the family speed-walked away, with their youngest’s head still tucked away. 

Santa stared at them for several seconds before standing up. “Yeahhhh, definitely time for a lunch break,” he mumbled. His co-worker just nodded, still looking completely stunned by the whole situation...

“Mikey, you know Santa wouldn’t hurt you right?” Raph told him as their father continued to quickly lead them towards the exit.

“Yeah! He’s like the goodest guy ever!” Leo added, “Almost as good as Lou Jitsu!”

“Yeah, I know…” Mikey frowned. “But, he was kinda scary up close…” Still in his father’s arms, he glanced up at him when he felt him gently pat his shell. “Do you think he’s mad at me?”

“Oh no, I am sure Santa has dealt with much worse,” Splinter assured, “and besides, he knows you are all good boys, so I am sure you will all be getting a gift on Christmas morning.” All of his sons smiled at that, and Splinter - even with a slight panic still present in his chest - managed to smile back at them.

Maybe giving into his boys and letting them meet Santa just this once wasn’t the brightest idea ever, but as he listened to the four of them excitedly talk about the holidays and the gifts they hoped to get, Splinter’s own fears of Santa and his so-called elves (and Gilbert’s store security) slowly but surely faded away.


	17. “Feliz Navidad”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this turned out kiiiiinda sappy but whatever, I love Senor Hueso and he deserves a happy holiday. Also, those who read my fic 'A New Pizza Slice on Life' may recognize a couple characters/elements from that story in this drabble.

_ “Feliz Navidad! Feliz Navidad! Feliz Navidad, prospero año y felicidad!”  _ Hueso hummed along to the peppy jingle playing on Run of the Mill’s tiny dining room radio as he made his rounds. Mostly though, he was just killing time. 

Many of his yokai and mutant customers who lived on the surface and chose to celebrate human holidays often decided to eat at home, and those who chose to eat out instead had already come and gone. Only the slow-eating customers remained, and he was sure that even they would be gone soon.

As such, most of his restaurant crew had gone home as well. Only a couple chefs were left in the kitchen, already getting started on their nightly clean-up, while his waiters were doing what they could to stay busy.

“Slow night, huh?” Fenella said as he passed her.

“ _ Si _ ,” Hueso nodded, “But, it is what it is, I suppose.” Some holidays were busy, others were totally dead. Such was the life of a restaurant owner, but he didn’t mind too much. In this case, an early night was very much welcome. Speaking of which- “If you’d like, you and your crew can head home.”

The futakuchi-onna turned slightly, her second face blinking at him. “Are you sure? I don’t mind staying to help out.”

Hueso chuckled. “While I appreciate it, I don’t think there is much else you all can do here. It doesn’t look like we’ll get many more customers, and with the kitchen staff still here, it won’t take us long to close up either. So please, go and enjoy your night.”

Fenella smiled. “Thank you, Senor. Happy holidays.”

“And to you as well,” Hueso nodded. With that, Fenella gathered up her remaining wait staff and sent them all home before heading out herself, leaving Hueso to take care of their remaining guests, doing some light cleaning in-between refilling drinks and checking in on how everything tasted.

By the time he had cleared their tables and swept the dining room, the kitchen staff was just about ready to go home as well. “ _ Gran trabajo, todos _ ,” Hueso told them, “May you all have a good night, and a pleasant holiday.” His staff politely thanked him, and once the portal to the restaurant was properly locked, they all headed home. 

As he walked down the street, his fedora pulled down and his coat collar up, the skeleton muttered another song under his breath.  _ “Dicen que diosito baja… Cuando llega nochebuena… En una estrellita blanca… A compartir con nosotros… Ricos y pobres la cena~” _

Once he started getting close to his home, Hueso could start to smell that Christmas Eve’s feast - which was delicious enough for him to pick up his pace, temporarily forgetting about how slick the streets of the city could be. Lit candles in the window greeted him, and when he opened the door, the warmth from his home washed over his bones.

Hueso sighed, tapping his shoes on the threshold before slipping them off. “Helloooo, anyone home?”

“In here,  _ hermano _ !” he heard his brother shout from the kitchen. As Hueso passed by the living room, he could see his son working on some intricate-looking snowflake decorations.

“Welcome home, Papa,” Junior said, not looking up from his project, but still smiling.

“Thank you,  _ mijo _ ,” Hueso smiled back. Once he finally made it to the kitchen, he could fully appreciate the spread that Piel had prepared (as well as the amazing centerpiece Junior had made, though that was no surprise. He knew his son’s talents with flowers and crafting well, and the poinsettias’ bold colors and huge petals had been a great medium for Junior to work with.) 

Placed all around the table, there were plates of tamales, freshly caught salted cod from the Hidden City bay, plenty of salad and a big bowl of pozole soup. “...What, no pizza?” Hueso smirked.

Piel scoffed at his brother’s joke. “Eh, you were always better at making pizza than I was. But I can still make a mean bacalao! ...Though, I think I may have overcooked the tamales a bit.”

“Eh,” Hueso shrugged, “They don’t look too bad to me. Besides, I’m so hungry, I am sure I would eat anything at this point.”

The skin-yokai chuckled. “Fair enough…” As they worked together to finish setting the table, he heard his bone-brother sigh, though he could tell it wasn’t out of fatigue or frustration. In fact, it was the exact opposite - and Piel knew this, because he felt the same way. “It really is good to be sharing  _ Noche Buena _ with you again,  _ hermano _ .”

Hueso nodded, his smile warm. “Yes, it is.”

Soon enough, they called Junior to join them at the table, and began digging into their Christmas Eve feast. Plates were passed around, the two brothers occasionally bickering over a dish, and conversation topics remained light. Sometimes Junior would tell an impromptu joke if there was a punny enough opportunity, or Piel would break into one of his old pirate tales, and Hueso would just shake his head at them both.

Of course, he loved spending any holiday - human-made or Yokai-made - with his son. But having his brother here with them as well, and knowing deep in his bones that his bond with Piel had finally been repaired after so many years, well…

Hueso smiled as Piel and Junior shared another laugh. ‘It truly is a Christmas wish come true,’ he thought to himself.


	18. "Season’s Beatings"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another drabble that sorta references a previous fic of mine, "Finding a New Clan". I just love the idea of CJ and Raph going out on patrol and being vigilantes together, just as much as I love Raph's Red Angel of Preventing Harm outfit, lol. Also, does anyone else think that CJ is sorta reminiscent of/kinda gives off the same somewhat-crazy and VERY intense vibes as the 1987 cartoon version of Casey Jones? Eh, maybe it's just me.

Raph shivered for what seemed like the fifth or sixth time within the last minute. He clutched his poncho tighter, trying to get as much warmth as he could from it.

“While I understand the symbolism behind a uniform as someone who used to wear one, how it can not only act as a symbol of honor and allegiance but also as an effective way to strike fear and intimidation into the  _ hearts of your enemies-! _ ...Dude, just put a coat on,” Casey told him bluntly.

Raph shook his head. “N-No, I’m fine! Raph’s fine! Just- Just gotta warm myself up, is all!” He threw a few punches through the air, trying to loosen up his stiff arms. “C-Come on, CJ. Let’s g-get to the next rooftop. This sp-spot is pretty dead.” 

Casey shrugged, not having any issue with that. “Fine. But be warned that if you fall into hibernation, I will NOT let you slow me down.”

“Yeah yeah,” Raph grumbled, not believing her for a second; Casey might have been crazy and headstrong and even a bit rabid at times, but she never liked leaving a person behind - certainly not her teammate and best guy friend.

Not like she was in any real rush anyway. Although she wasn’t wearing a hat or a scarf (she didn’t want to distract from her hockey mask), the leather coat Casey was wearing sure did look warm, probably warm enough to let her stay out in the cold for hours… 

Raph shivered again, scowling. He was definitely adding some winter padding to his Red Angel of Preventing Harm outfit when they got back to the lair. Maybe some sleeves too…

It seemed like he would have plenty of time to do it too, since it looked like the petty criminals of NYC took holidays too. That or it was just too cold to commit any crimes. Still, they had to at least make one last sweep of this area. So, Raph broke into a run, his red poncho (now acting more as a cape, now that he had let go of it) flying in the moonlight. Pulling her mask down, Casey ran after him, easily keeping pace despite her partner’s speed.

They kept at it for a while, running and jumping across rooftops with ease, until a quiet crash rang through the darkness, just loud enough for them to notice. Stopping, Raph peered over the side of the building, where he could see someone crawling through a window. He briefly watched the shadows of the person on the sidewalk, and could easily guess what they were doing.

“Oh no, no one steals a Christmas present on our watch!” Raph growled. That was all Casey needed to jump down and make her appearance. 

The sudden  _ *thud* _ of her landing and the “HALT, PUNK!” made the thief look up - and between her hockey mask and the metal hockey stick in her hand, well… The thief decided to take what he could and run rather than fight.

“Hey!” Casey snapped, “Get back here, coward!” She knew crawling through the broken window would take too much time, but it didn’t take a strategic genius to figure out where the thief was heading. She ran into the alleyway next to the building - where sure enough, the thief exited a back door.

The thief yelped, and tried to run - only to run right into an even SCARIER vigilante who towered over him with spikes and solid white eyes. “So,” Raph began, “Are we gonna do this the easy way or-” The thief tried to throw a punch, and his hand was caught easily. Raph gave him a flat ‘seriously?’ look, and the thief could only gulp. Slowly, he offered up the gift, smiling in a sheepish ‘please don’t hurt me’ way.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Raph said, taking the gift before looking up at his partner, “CJ?”

Grinning under her mask, Casey held up a small bundle of rope. Raph held the thief in place while she tied his wrists together, and as she called the cops to pick him up, Raph carefully placed the present back through the window, doing his best to avoid cuts from the glass. Once that was done, the two disappeared just as sirens could be heard.

“Honestly, that was almost TOO easy,” Casey huffed, crossing her arms once they made it back onto the roof.

Raph lightly tapped the plastic forehead of her mask. “Hey, it may’ve been an easy fight, but we still saved someone’s holiday. That ain’t nothin’ to sneeze at, you know?”

“I guess… And at the very least, we can say that tonight’s patrol wasn’t completely fruitless.”

“See, that’s the spirit!” Raph smiled. They hung around the rooftop a bit longer, waiting until the cops were gone before deciding to move. “And doing stuff out here is still better than doin’ nothing at home, you know,” he added before letting out another shiver.

Casey lifted her mask, smirking at him. “You sure about that?” Raph nudged her, nearly making her stumble. Casey nudged him back,  _ actually _ making him stumble a little. At any rate, he decided to lead them home, figuring there wouldn’t be much more action that night, unfortunately.

As they headed towards their home manhole cover, Casey reached into her pockets, pulling out a few hand-warmer packets. Couldn’t exactly mess with them during a battle, but on the walk home? She didn’t think they’d be that much of a bother. So, she snapped each of them in hand before wordlessly offering them to her partner.

Raph grunted a thanks, taking the packs and putting two of them on his shoulder, slightly under his shell, and keeping the other two clutched in his hands. Within a few seconds, Raph let out a relaxed sigh and Casey’s smile softened a bit.

“So, you gonna stick around after cocoa?” Raph asked once they made it to the manhole, “Or do you have to get home?”

“Aunt Angel’s working a night shift tonight,” Casey replied, “As long as I get back before six, I could probably stay for a little while. But  _ only _ because Michelangelo’s cocoa is worth staying for.”

“Hmph, right.” Raph landed on the ground, only needing a second to balance himself despite the slight slickness of the concrete, “I’ll be sure to tell him that his cocoa is the only reason why you like us.”

Casey was about to give a retort when she stopped, noticing something across the street. Just an ordinary van with people moving things out of it… But the van was logoless, and what company delivered this late? Obviously, many places were open late in NYC, but her instincts still told her that this was something else… Something familiar, like the nights when her former senseis and whatever grunts they could spare unloaded stolen merchandise into their headquarters…

Raph seemed to notice this too, along with noticing how the so-called delivery men looked a little rough around the edges, not even wearing uniforms. He also recalled Donnie saying something about a slight tick in gang activity according to police scanners and his Donnie Detection. Mysterious deliveries certainly weren’t the dangerous thing ever, but they were still worth investigating.

“...I doubt they’ll be much of a challenge, even with their numbers,” Casey stated, already getting out her hockey stick, “I can handle this on my own. You should go make sure Leonardo and Jitsu-Sensei don’t drink all the cocoa before we get there.”

Raph, however, could read between her words. He was still shivering a bit, after all, even with the heat packs. But with a smile, he put the packs in his leotard pockets and grabbed his sais, feeling a new sort of mystic warmth wash over his hands. “What, and let you have all the fun? No way, Raph’s all in. Like I said, all I need is a good warm-up.”

Casey smiled. “Suit yourself. Shall we use our most effective battle strategy then?”

“You mean start out stealthy until we see proof of them doing something sketchy, and then rushing in and fighting every person we see?” Raph asked, “Yeah, I think that works.” His partner’s grin widened, and together they ran towards the hideout, more than ready for a late night fight that would hopefully be worth the wait.


	19. “How many Christmas lights does one person need?”

“Seriously, Dee. How many Christmas lights does one person need?” April asked, looking at the - not one, not two, but FIVE boxes - of lights. Even for Donnie, this was overkill.

Donatello, however, was so excited that not even his best friend/sister’s concern and lack of enthusiasm could deter him. “You know me,” he told her, “It’s not enough to simply succeed or do their bare minimum. Sometimes, I just have to  _ ~dazzle~ _ . Aaaaand, what better medium to do said dazzling with than the wonderful scientific miracle that is electricity!”

Hopping over the boxes, he opened up a blueprint to show her. “Speaking of miracles, thanks to this new generator of mine, we’ll be able to keep all these lights AND the Lair powered up and glowing brighter than ever! Aaaaand-” 

Donnie grabbed another blueprint, this one of a complex looking circuit board. “What’s a little experimentation and showmanship without some - wait for it -  _ ultra-high tech programming!  _ Exciting, right? Once I hook the lights up to this, I should be able to change them to any sort of color, pattern and theme that I want with just a push of a button! It’s going to look AMAZING! The most amazing holiday light show in the history of holiday light shows, so bold and bright that it shall go down in our family’s history!”

April held back a tired sigh. They really shouldn’t have let him watch the Great Christmas Light Fight. “It does sound amazing, Donnie, but are you  _ sure _ you’re not going overboard?”

Normally Donnie would’ve frustrated and annoyed at anyone, April especially, doubting his genius. But the softshell was so excited that he couldn’t bring himself to mind. Still, he assured her, “I promise I’ll do several safety checks and make sure that there are no fire hazards to my display.” After a moment, he added, “and I’ll test the Lair’s sprinkler system too, just in case. Now, would you like to help me plan out the aesthetics of my display?”

Everything in her was telling her that this would be a disaster… But hey, best case scenario, it’d hopefully be a disaster that they could laugh about later. “I am kinda partial to red and green,” April told him, “So maybe we could start out with that before switchin’ to rainbow?”

“Oooh, I like it!” Donnie smiled, his shell’s robot arms grabbing a pencil and a notepad, “Maybe a sort of wave effect as a transition between the two? We could do a warm yellow or a blue and white display afterwards, really bring the holiday ‘magic’, as it were.”

“Heh, and here I thought you still hated magic.”

“I’m getting better at accepting it, and having my own mystic weapon certainly helps with- Ohh wait a minute, maybe I could use my bo as well, add in a few mystic holograms. Of course, tech-based holograms would be just as effective if not more so, but the mystic energy working in-twine with the electricity could make it even MORE of a spectacle-”

“Oh it’s gonna be a spectacle alright,” April mumbled as the turtle in purple continued to ramble on…

It took about a week for all of the lights to be set up. By the time Donnie was finished, the entire atrium was literally covered in lights, to the point where April had to squint a bit just to see the wall behind them.

Lights also draped down from the ceiling (where Donnie’s bo had also been connected, acting as a sort of ‘beam’ that gave the ceiling lights a bit more stability) and ran into every room, with Donnie insisting that he would be able to personalize each section of lights to the colors and patterns of his family’s choosing. Heck, even the Jitsu family Christmas tree’s lights had been roped into it per Donnie’s request, its lights also currently connected to Donnie’s generator.

“Alright, everyone - ladies, gentlemen, family and friends alike - the moment you’ve all been waiting for has arrived!” Donnie shouted, the generator’s remote in his hand as he struck a dramatic pose. He had already programmed his display’s full thirty minute show into the lights and made sure that it would loop accordingly, he just had to flip the switch.

Though his brothers were excited and cheering him on, Donnie could see the look of concern still on April’s face even as she clapped. Draxum and Casey were still holding their applause, and Splinter - well, he was just trying to hide the fire extinguisher behind his back. But no matter, he’d dispel their doubts with one simple push of a button.

“All lights have been checked, no faulty wires or short circuit risks detected!” S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. announced as he flew over to his creator, indicating that the last of the safety checks was finally complete.

Donnie grinned, thanking the little drone before once again raising his hands dramatically. “And Donatello said…  _ Let there be light!” _ He pressed the button - and he only saw a flash of color before everything went white.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

With a heavy sigh, Donnie set down the last box of lights. It was admittedly disappointing, seeing his many lights now dark and acknowledging that most of his hard work had gone to waste, but perhaps it was for the best. At the very least, he could still recycle the light bulbs, cords and wiring for future projects. As he stood back up, he rubbed his forehead, still feeling a sharp headache. But hey, at least he wasn’t blind anymore.

“You good?” a voice asked from behind him as a mug of hot tea was slipped into his hand. 

Donnie smiled a bit. “Yeah, I’m good. ...You know, there’s something to be said about simplicity.” Turning towards April, he gestured up towards where the remaining (reasonable amount) of lights still hung around their atrium. “While perhaps not as flashy as they could be, they do still add an appropriate amount of holiday cheer, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” April smirked, “And they don’t completely burn your eyeballs either. That’s a nice perk.”

“Yes, that too,” Donnie nodded, once again feeling thankful that he always wore goggles. If not for them, they all might have still been crawling around on the floor trying to find the main power cord. (Apparently, in his excitement, he had forgotten to install an ‘override light show’ feature in his remote control. Oh well, live and learn.)

As the two of them sat down near the twinkling tree, April leaned on her mad scientist friend’s shoulder. Donnie scooted a bit closer as well before taking a long sip of his tea. “...They do look nice though, now that I can actually see them,” she told him, “That generator you made really does make them glow a lot brighter.”

The softshell felt a bit of pride in his chest at that comment. “Heh, at least that was one thing that went right, plus I can still use it year-round for day-to-day power use. As long as I keep it in good condition, we shouldn’t have to worry about power outages at all, no matter what the scenario. Oh, another perk-” 

He tapped his wrist-tablet, and the Christmas lights on both the tree and the ones hanging above their heads changed from rainbow to various shades of purple. “I can still control the lights,” Donnie finished.

April chuckled, shaking her head. “Not exactly what I call a ‘Christmas color’. But hey, I’m good with purple.” So the two of them continued to sit together in comfortable silence, enjoying both the lovely purple glow of the atrium’s various lights and each other’s company.


	20. “Baby’s First Christmas”

Being only about two years old and having spent most of her life either in a fish bowl or swimming alone in the sewers, Piebald didn’t have much experience with holidays. She was still willing to at least try them though, and with her brothers, father and April all being so welcoming and encouraging, how could she say no?

Though unfamiliar, she soon discovered that Christmas wasn’t bad by any means. Plenty of lights and food and lights and games. Her family was certainly happy to have her home - “I missed my widdle Piebald so much~!” Splinter had told her, greeting her with a hug (which the rest of the fam soon joined) the moment she stepped into the new Lair - and they even gave her a gift! 

A bright and festive looking swim jacket to put over her dark cloak, with fabric as soft as it was sturdy, easily able to withstand the waters of the NYC pipeline and the Hudson River. It was a very thoughtful gift and had made her smile, just as everything else about Christmas had, at least a little. And yet, something was missing…

Piebald had been staring into her cup of eggnog, trying to figure out what that ‘something’ was, when she felt an arm wrap around her. “Heya, Fish Sis,” Leo greeted, giving her a cheeky smile.

Piebald smiled back. “Heh. Hey, Turd.”

“Whoa whoa, excuse you,” Leo said, feigning a look of offense, “How about a little respect? You may be bigger than me but I’m still, like, wayyyy older.”

“Yeah right!” Piebald giggled, “Two years in fish years is wayyyy older than fourteen years in turtle-human years.”

“Ugh, whatever, I still say I’m older,” Leo insisted, reaching out to try and pull Piebald’s hood down over her eyes - only to get a light fin-slap in the face as retaliation. The two of them pretended to squabble for a bit longer before sharing a laugh. “...So, as your super cool and totally older sibling, I have to ask: Is everything okay?” he asked genuinely, “‘Cause, you’re kinda all by yourself over here.”

This was true, Piebald silently admitted as she glanced over to where the rest of the party was at, with nearly everyone else focusing on (and laughing at) Mikey and April trying to get Draxum to do Christmas Karaoke with them.

“I’m alright,” she said, “Just didn’t feel like carols. But I’m fine, really!”

“You sure?” Leo asked, leaning on her a bit. “‘Cause hey, if you’re feeling overstimulated, that’s okay. Raph and Donnie get that way too. We could totally go somewhere dark and quiet for a hot minute and come back when you’re ready.”

“Nah, it’s not that.” Though she appreciated the gesture. “It’s just…” Piebald blew a raspberry, letting out a few small bubbles. “Things aren’t  _ bad _ or anything. Just… Not my style?”

“What do you mean?” her blue brother asked curiously. Did his sister need more fish themed or ocean themed stuff to feel at home for the holidays? Or maybe it was something else?

“Look, don’t get me wrong, it’s nice and pretty and all, and I don’t hate it or anything. I’m having fun but… I just kinda feel like I’m missing something? Or like it’s not really for me?” Piebald sighed. “Sorry, I’m being dumb. Just forget I said anything, alright? Like I said, I’m not miserable or anything. Just-”

“A fish out of water?” Leo smirked.

Piebald rolled her eyes. “Something like that. More like a fish out of her holiday…” Then again, what kind of holiday did a fish celebrate anyway?

Leonardo seemed to know. Within a few seconds of her saying that, the red-eared slider suddenly stood up. “Be right back!” he told her over his shoulder, already walking away. Piebald gave a curious look at that, but simply shrugged it off and finished off her drink.

After a couple minutes, Leo returned with a huge grin. “Okay, come on.”

“Come on where?” Piebald asked.

“TV room. Now come on!” Leo insisted, “Big Brother Leo’s got just what you need to make your Christmas complete!”

Piebald scoffed as she stood up, smiling again. “You can call yourself ‘big brother’ all you want, but it doesn’t make it true.” Still, she followed the blue turtle up to the TV room. Though different in decor, given that it was a new room in a new Lair, the feeling it gave off was still the same. She always loved being in here, sitting near her father’s chair or on his lap, listening to him read her stories or watching tv with him.

If that was what they were there for, then- “Shouldn’t we bring everyone else in here too?” Piebald asked as she sat down in her father’s chair.

“Nah. Not for this first one, at least,” Leo said as he opened the TV room laptop, the device already connected to the projector with various pirating sites bookmarked (a nice alternative to old film rolls, VHS tapes and DVDs, even if their pop didn’t really agree), “Pretty sure only April would enjoy it, and she seemed pretty busy. But don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll see a few of them later on. Maybe for the second or third one, depending on the order we choose.”

“Okayyy… You wanna tell me what this ‘first one’ and ‘second or third one’ is?” Piebald asked, starting to get pretty curious. Leo said nothing, instead only focusing on the laptop until he finally found what he was looking for. He then turned on the projector.

As the opening credits rolled, the title of the movie eventually revealed itself to Piebald. “Krampus,” she read out loud, sitting up a bit straighter.

“Yep,” Leo nodded, grabbing a beanbag, “Thought maybe a little Christmas horror was just what you were looking for.”

Piebald gasped. “They make Christmas horror movies?!” she asked, her brown eyes widening as they filled with glee.

Turns out, they made SEVERAL horror-themed Christmas movies, and Piebald enjoyed every single one of them - while also enjoying seeing Leo freak out whenever a jumpscare caught him off guard. Still, the two of them shared plenty of laughs, and although the rest of their family didn’t really join in until they got to “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, Piebald didn’t mind this at all.

After all, she had a selection of horror movies, the occasional Christmas cookie or fin-full of fish food, and her older/little brother marathoning these unconventional holiday flicks with her - and for a spooky and kooky goldfish-mutant like her, that was all Piebald really needed to help her fully enjoy the holiday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Piebald was such a fun character, I miss her :(


	21. “I triple-dog-dare you.”

Compared to their previous home - a big castle with a comfy den that had a fireplace and a cozy dog bed, and a boss who had some pretty comfy shoulders - yeah, living in a dumpster was a bit of a downgrade.

But hey, still better than sleeping in a box of knives and dealing with jerky alpha gargoyle-bros every day. Besides, a dumpster had plenty of perks too! Plenty of food, for one thing, given how much the humans on the surface seemed to be feasting lately. Plenty of food and big meals for them meant plenty of leftovers for Huginn and Muninn to enjoy afterwards. 

Another perk was that this dumpster just so happened to be sitting across the street from an electronics store - one with plenty of TVs in the window and a nice awning for the two goyles to perch under, their stone skin making it so the ice-cold metal bars that held up the awning hardly bothered them at all.

Although, as they gazed down at the TVs through the giant display window, occasionally swooping down to grab a bit of food that some passing-by human dropped, they couldn’t exactly hear the dialogue from the TVs which made it hard for them to follow some shows. Still, it was entertaining enough, and the movie that was on now was simple enough to follow.

It seemed to mostly focus on a human boy with glasses and his day-to-day life with his friends - friends who, apparently, were willing to stick their tongues to a metal poll. “Heh, humans are pretty dumb, huh?” Huginn said, his arms and wings hanging loosely as he lazily sprawled out on his perch, “I mean, of course your tongue is gonna stick when it’s this cold out!”

“What, no way,” Muninn disagreed, “They totally faked it! Yeah it’s a pretty funny joke, but there’s no way it  _ actually  _ happens in real life!”

Huginn gave his partner a flat look. “Dude, are you serious?”

“Look, you can see the fake tongue!”

“No you can’t!”

“Okay look, I’ll prove it.” Sitting up, Muninn flew over to a nearby streetlamp. Thankfully, the streets were pretty deserted so they didn’t have to worry about being spotted or captured, but after seeing that his friend was indeed serious, Huginn had bigger concerns than that.

“Muninn, I really wouldn’t.” Huginn placed his hand on the pole and shivered. “I mean, feel how cold this is. It’s  _ freezing. _ Of course your tongue is going to stick!”

“Yeah, but only if I hold it there for a while,” Muninn argued, crossing his arms, “I’m not saying that it’s impossible, I’m just saying that it wouldn’t happen as quickly as it did in that movie. If I only hold it there a second and pull back, I’ll be totally fine! You’ll see.”

“Muninn-” But Muninn was determined. Flapping his little wings, he hovered in front of the pole and opened his mouth, sticking his tongue out. As soon as he felt the tip of it touch the metal, he counted off in his head - ‘ _ one Hidden City’ _ \- and pulled back-!

...and pulled back.

...and pulled back? The round gargoyle kept pulling, wincing in pain each time, but his tongue refused to come off the pole. “Ah?! AH! AH!” 

Muninn was starting to panic now, while Huginn just sighed. “I tried to warn you, man.” 

“AH! AH-AH AH AH!” 

“I’m gonna, I’m gonna!” Huginn wrapped his arms around Muninn, and pulled  _ hard _ . Muninn cried out, but his tongue remained frozen in place. “Oh wow, you are REALLY stuck on there, huh?”

Muninn started to scream again, but Huginn shushed him. “Come on, Muninn, keep it together! Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here. You just have to work with me, okay?”

His friend whimpered, but nodded. “Okay, so, on the count of three, we both pull, got it?” Huginn said. Muninn nodded again. “Okay. One… two… THREE!”

Flapping their tiny wings with all their strength, the two goyles pulled as hard as they could, but to no avail. “Come on, one more time!” Huginn insisted. He didn’t want to leave Muninn alone while he went to get something that could help, both because it was a risk to his partner’s safety and because he knew it would just make Muninn freak out even more. No, he had to get Muninn free here and now. “Gargoyle strength, don’t fail us now!”

They both pulled one last time, until finally-  _ “AHHH!” _ They both screamed (Muninn much louder than Huginn, for obvious reasons) as they fell backwards and onto the hard and snowy sidewalk. 

“Ugh… Oh hey, we did- oooh…” Huginn winced at Muninn’s  _ very _ raw-looking tongue. “Yeahhh, we’re definitely going to have to find some sort of band-aid or lotion for that,” he told him. Muninn just whimpered again.

Suddenly, a loud creaking sound caught their attention. Looking up, they could see the streetlamp leaning as it threatened to fall on them. “Oh, shoot!” Huginn flew up and pushed the lamp back up. He had been hoping to just put the lamp back into place, but perhaps his so-called gargoyle strength had been a bit TOO strong that time, since it ended up only staying upright and balanced for only a moment before falling in the opposite direction… and right onto a parked car.

Naturally, the car’s alarm went off, causing several other nearby alarms to go off. The sudden loud crash was sure to make humans look out their windows too. 

“Oops,” Huginn winced. Yep, time to bail. He scooped up Muninn, who was still holding his injured tongue, and flew over to their dumpster. Maaaaybe they would just stick to listening to the radio or people-watching the next time they needed entertainment, at least for a little while.

Meanwhile, down in the sewers, the Hamato-Jitsus were watching that very same scene, coincidentally enough. But while most of the family either laughed or cringed at the scene that they had all seen many times before, Draxum just rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Honestly,” he said, “Who would be stupid enough to think that your tongue wouldn’t stick to a frozen pole?”


	22. “Hey, no peeking!”

It had taken a while to figure out what to get, save up for it and then actually buy them all, but at about two weeks before Christmas, Raph had managed to get presents for all the members of his family, plus a few close friends. Now, all that was left for him to do was to wrap them up and put them under the tree.

Funnily enough, Raph was actually looking forward to wrapping them. It may have seemed like a chore for others, but Raph thought it was sort of relaxing in a way, like knitting or lifting weights or listening to one of his old R&B records. Heck, he even had one of his records playing as he wrapped, and if he was being honest, there was just something satisfying about looking at a perfectly wrapped gift.

“Alright, one gift left,” the snapper mumbled, placing the gift he had just finished wrapping next to the others before picking up the five volume box-set of Hyperspace Heroes manga, a series that Leo had recently been getting into. Raph smiled at the set. He just KNEW that Leon was going to love-!

“Hey Raaaaaph?” Speak of the turtle. Raph managed to tuck the gift into his arms and turned himself away away from his room’s entryway just as Leo walked in. “Mike’s making Christmas cupcakes, and I guess he found this eggnog batter recipe online that apparently is really good, and wants to know if you’re cool with eggnog cupcakes.”

“Uh huh, yep, Raph’s cool with it,” Raph nodded, still keeping himself turned away. Leo stared at the spiky back of his brother, his eyes shifting from the small stack of wrapped presents, to the remaining empty box and gift tag that were sitting on the floor next to the roll of wrapping paper.

“...” Slowly, Leo smirked. Leaning back into the hall, he shouted, “Raph says he’s fine with eggnog cupcakes, Mikey!”

“Uh, shouldn’t you go tell him in person?” Raph asked, “I mean, I don’t think he heard-”

_ “Cool, thanks! You guys are gonna love this!”  _ Mikey shouted back, their youngest brother’s reply loud and clear.

Raph was starting to sweat a bit. “...Well, uh, s-shouldn’t you go help him bake?” he suggested.

“Actually, I was thinking I could help you here,” Leo said coolly, “You know, give you an extra hand with the tape, maybe wrap a few of my own presents.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need any help,” Raph told him as he started to scowl.

“You sure? ‘Cause that present definitely looks like a two-brother job-” Leo stepped forward to try and get a look at the present - HIS present - but Raph just tucked into himself even further.

“No way am I letting you get a peek at your present, Leo!”

“Come on, I’ve already practically seen it-!”

“Don’t make me throw you out- HEY!” In a flash of bright blue light, Leo whizzed around Raph - who managed to turn away again just before he could see anything. “And don’t use your ninpo to try and get a peek either!”

“I promised I’ll act surprised on Christmas morning, just let me see-!” He zipped back around, only for Raph to block him  _ again _ as he shoved the present underneath his bench press, just far enough back that Leo couldn’t see what was unless he crouched down.

So, that’s just what Leo did. Of course, Raph was expecting this, and simply picked his blue brother up by the edge of his shell - only to get light slaps on the face. 

“The return of the Three-Star Hurricane!” Leo yelled, doing his best to stun (or maybe just distract, given how ineffective the move could be) Raph just enough for him to squirm out of his grip and get a peek of his gift.

“Oh, I’ll show you hurricane!” In one swift motion, he just about bowled Leo, sending him rolling out of his room. “Ha! I told you, no one’s gettin’ a peek at the gifts I got them, and especially not you, Leo! Not while Raph’s around!”

“You sure about that?” Leo smirked, getting back on his feet and not ready to give up just yet. Hoping to live up to his species’ namesake and speed, he crouched down and practically scrambled back into Raph’s bedroom. But before he could even try to slide past the snapper, another Raph emerged from the light now on the first Raph’s chest and was sent forward, pushing Leo back like a lineman pushing back a quarterback.

Leo growled. “What happened to not using our ninpos?!” he asked the aura clone. The fake Raph said nothing, choosing to instead hold Leo in place. Unfortunately for him, Leo had a secret weapon stashed away, a small leftover from his own wrapping session earlier that day.

Managing to get one arm free, Leo reached into his shell, withdrew his weapon - and bonked the clone on the head as hard as he could with the empty cardboard tube. With the clone stunned, Leo was able to squirm out of the fake Raph’s grip and give him a hard kick in the chest, dispelling him. “Oh-ho, yeah!” he cheered, “So, what’s your plan now, Ra-?”

As he turned to face his actual brother, Leo’s victorious grin fell as Raph, who was chuckling a little at his brother’s stunned expression, held up the now-wrapped present. Sure, the paper wasn’t quite as smooth or straight as the others, but it was completely wrapped, and that was all that mattered. “Ha. Check _ and _ kinged,” he smirked.

While the turtle in blue was clearly annoyed and disappointed, he had to admit that his big brother’s plan had been a pretty good one. “Well played, bro. Well played,” Leo told him, even clapping a bit. Even if Raph usually preferred rushing in fists blazing, it was moments like this that reminded Leo that Raph could be a decent strategist when he wanted to be. “Though, I’m pretty sure it’s ‘check and mate’.”

“Whatever, and thanks,” Raph nodded, placing the gift next to the others, “So, you wanna go see if Mikey will let us lick the leftover cake batter?”

Leo smiled. “You read my mind!” he said, letting Raph take the lead as they headed to the kitchen. “...So, what  _ did  _ you get me for Christmas anyway?”

“...Seriously?” Raph replied flatly.

His brother just shrugged. “Eh, worth a shot.”


End file.
